We left Santa Fe at 0800 and made our way towards Moab, Utah.
When we left, the temperature was 54 and the wind was blowing really hard from the WNW. As we drove into that wind, I noticed a dust storm several miles away. It was not a Haboob type dust storm but it was definitely stirring things up. Fortunately, the highway we were traveling only caused us to have to drive through the "tip" of this storm.
As we headed north, the temperature started to drop a bit and we began driving through the San Juan Mountains.
VIEW FROM THE REAR VIEW MIRROR
As we made our way up the mountains, it started to snow. By the time we hit the Continental Divide, visibility was down to about 50 yards.
EVERYTHING SORT OF DISAPPEARED ABOUT 30-50 YARDS AWAY FROM THE CAR
It looked like southbound portions of the road had been treated but the side we were on was getting messy really fast. Rob did the prudent thing by staying in the right lane and lowering his speed.
As we were making our way, a guy in a Dodge pickup towing a long flatbed trailer went flying past us. He must have been going 70. I made some comment about "crazy driver" and we continued. We got about 10 miles down the road and that guy had obviously lost control of his truck and/or trailer. He had ended up crossing into the oncoming lanes and he got hit hard by a semi. The semi was a total mess and the truck was off the road and the trailer was a mess. I think the driver got really, really lucky and got hit at the back of his truck and mid section of his trailer. It looked like both drivers were walking around and were receiving assistance from a snow plow driver. We decided that trying to stop would be dangerous because it was still snowing hard and there was no shoulder. We were being cautious from the get go and this scene was a good reminder to be careful.
The snow continued and after another 20 miles or so, an armored car passed us. He was not moving too fast but he did pass. We did not have to go very far to find out why he was in a hurry.
OOPS
This incident seemed less violent but was definitely a problem. There were police cars everywhere. We figured the armored car that had passed us was going to make a money transfer from this disabled one.
We finally came across snow plows doing their job. Driving behind a snow plow is slow but very comforting. We went from really nasty roads to well treated, very drivable roads.
The snow plows were three abreast so no one could pass. I was so glad because it was obvious that someone would have tried. By the time I got the above photo, they had all moved into a line, the roads were great and they were allowing cars to pass.
This is probably TMI but anyone who has driven in nasty road conditions knows that the need to pee always presents itself. Snow, stress and conditions that prohibit stopping just aggravate this need. By the time we got to the next small town, we were "dashing thru the snow' to the nearest bathroom.
With the storm over, our bathroom needs met, we were again road ready. We had a bite of lunch and made our way to Four Corners Monument.
The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet.
VERY COOL
ONE FINGER....FOUR STATES
We have always wanted to stop here but we were never able to fit it into our vacations. It is a bit out of the way and is not a place you feel compelled to linger. It is
worth the stop but you are ready to go in about 15 minutes. One might stay longer in the warmer months because there are probably vendors. February was obviously a slow month and we felt really lucky that it was not crowded.
SUCH A TOURIST. TOUCHING FOUR STATES... ALL AT THE SAME TIME!
With our visit done, we got back in the car and kept driving towards Moab, Utah.
In the next 75 miles, we had sun, snow, rain, hail and high winds.
We also had some beautiful scenery with amazing rock formations.
THIS LONE FORMATION IS HUGE
TALL SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAINS PEEKING OVER LOWER PLATEAUS
It had been quite a while since we had driven through terrain like this and we were reminded just how uniquely beautiful it is.
We had to stop for a group of sheep crossing the road. This just about put Penny over the edge.
ONE OF THE HERD
Penny started barking like crazy and this dog came out of nowhere and went all Cujo around the car. This dog was obviously well trained to take care of "his" sheep and he did his job well. He gathered his herd, got them off the road and gave us a good snarly, barky warning to keep moving. He never touched the car but he was serious about his job.
We got to Moab and checked in. If you ever come here, and need a room, the La Quinta is fantastic. Great rooms, nice views and free breakfast.
We ate dinner at the Blue Pig which is just across the parking lot. Their food is awesome (lots of meat) and they had live bluegrass music.
We'd had a wild weather day but we were warm, safe and well fed.
Another great day in this thing we call life.
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